In response to Senate Republicans confirming Billy Long, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Internal Revenue Service, DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“Billy Long leveraged his nomination to lead the IRS to rake in donations from consultants and industry insiders looking for favorable treatment. Long hasn’t been on the job even one day and he’s compromised his integrity — he can’t regulate the same crooks who paid his bills. But that’s no issue for Donald Trump, who already planned to let corporate tax cheats off the hook.” 

NEW: Senate Republicans confirmed unqualified MAGA loyalist Billy Long to head the IRS and help Donald Trump give billionaire tax cheats a pass. 

Chad Pergram, Fox News: “Senate confirms former GOP MO Rep Billy Long as IRS Commissioner 53-44.”

ProPublica: “Billy Long, Trump’s Nominee to Lead the IRS, Touts a Credential That Tax Experts Say Is Dubious”

CNBC: “‘Wealthy tax dodgers’ could benefit from IRS layoffs, Democrats warn”

“As the IRS faces mass layoffs, Congressional Democrats warn those staffing cuts could undermine the agency’s progress in collecting unpaid funds from ‘wealthy tax dodgers.’”

Long took over $130k in donations — much of it from donors affiliated with tax consulting groups — after being nominated to head the IRS. 

Politico: “President Donald Trump’s pick for Internal Revenue Service commissioner recently cleared a substantial debt from his failed 2022 Senate bid, using campaign contributions that rolled in after Trump announced his intent to nominate him to lead the tax agency, according to federal filings.

“Former Republican Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) raked in roughly $137,000 in campaign donations in January — the month after Trump said he would nominate him to serve in Trump’s administration — according to campaign finance disclosures filed late Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

“Long then paid back an outstanding personal loan of $130,000 he had made to his now-dormant 2022 U.S. Senate campaign in February. A number of the donors are affiliated with firms in the tax consultancy industry.”

New York Times: “Since leaving Congress in 2023, Billy Long has peddled a pandemic-era tax credit that the I.R.S. has warned is a magnet for fraud.”

Long backed Trump’s tax scam and called for making tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations permanent and larger. 

Springfield News-Leader: “Rep. Long then notes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as a ‘win for families.’ Using $75,000, the average family will save $1,200 or 1.6 percent (Bloomberg 12-20-18). But if you earn between $300,000 and $700,000, you save an average of $13,000, or 4.1 percent.”

Billy Long, Springfield News-Leader: “[Trump’s] speech promised a pro-growth plan that would help … businesses that were burdened with overregulation and excessive taxes. Less than six months after his speech, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) into law …

“I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on tax reform 2.0, which will be released in September. Tax reform 2.0 would ensure TCJA tax cuts are permanent and would create incentives for both businesses and individuals to innovate and save money.”